Since 1986
the Manatee Viewing Center in Apollo Beach Florida has brought people and
Florida's natural environment closer together. Tampa
Electric built the manatee observation platform at Big Bend Station and
welcomes the manatee watchers to its warm water discharge
viewing area. The Manatee Viewing Center has hosted more than
one million visitors who have come to see these endangered marine mammals.
Along with colorful educational displays, there is a butterfly garden,
puzzles and games to play, a hurricane simulator, a 900-foot tidal walkway
and a solar power display.